Vegetarian (Soy) Reuben Sandwich

"The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

 - Author Unknown

Hi everybody!  I hope that you are experiencing a pleasant day and there are no reasons ahead for it not continuing to be so.

Yes my friend.  It's yet another sandwich post today.  Two of them back to back.  Sorry but I've been on a real sandwich kick these past few days.  These things happen.  Soup for a few days, pizza for a few, crock pot meals for a few, and so on and so on.

Rye bread, cheese, dressing, sliced & marinated soy fillet, and sauerkraut.

The good news?  Both sandwich postings represent some mighty fine vegetarian eats!  Today's presentation may have a single unfortunate caveat though.  I'm hoping that you're fortunate enough to have access to a health market nearby your home.  Why?  I suspect the dehydrated soy fillets might be hard for some of you to get your hands around.  For me, I'm lucky to have Hoover's Essential Health Market as my favorite weekly "go to" shopping spot.

What is this?  Simply put, it a bag 'o dehydrated soy fillets.

Dehydrated soy fillets?  I suppose that they are essentially colossal chunks of TVP (textured vegetable protein).   A by-product, perhaps, of the soybean oil manufacturing process?   TVP is what Chucky affectionately likes to call "extruded soy by-product".  Hmm... Maybe dehydrated soy fillet sounds a skosh bit more appetizing?

"Oh?"  How do I get faux meat from these soy fillets?  Basically, you place the fillets into a pan of plain old tap water.  Heat it up until it boils and them immediately remove the fillets into a strainer and drain all water.  Refill the pan and place it back onto the burner for boiling once again.  As the water boils, squeeze the soy fillets as dry as you are able.  Careful though... they're hot.  When the water comes to a boil, toss the fillets back into the pot and cook an additional 5 to 7-minutes.

Again, remove the fillets into a strainer and drain all water.  You're done with the pan now.  After the fillets have had a chance to cool, squeeze them as dry as you are able.

Blend some fresh garlic, some reduced sodium soy sauce, and oil into a marinate.  I used walnut oil and Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce.  Slice the soy fillets into sardine-like slices tossing them into a marinating container.  When all soy fillets have been sliced and placed into the container, pour over the marinate and toss well.

Place into the fridge for 2-hours minimum (or overnight), tossing occasionally.  After thoroughly marinated, cook over medium heat in skillet until slightly browned and excess moisture is cooked out.

There you have it!  You've got delicious faux meat good for sandwiches, wraps, tossed onto salads, pizza topping, and just about anything else you can think of.

No.  We cut this in half and shared it as two lunches.

SERVINGS:  2 (our sandwich was colossal so we cut it in half to share it as lunch)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 slices hearty bread
• 1 slice vegan Swiss cheese
• 4 Tbsp Tiffany's 1,001 Thousand Island dressing
• 1/4 cup faux meat (I used sliced and marinated re-hydrated soy fillets)
• 1/4 cup drained sauerkraut

DIRECTIONS:

1. "Come on!  It's a grilled sandwich, okay?  Nothing special here folks."  You can cuss 'n swear at 'ol Chucky for not including directions if you want to do so.  "Ain't gonna do it."  "Ain't gonna do it."

CONFESSION:  I used real cheese on my sandwich but only because I'm using up my dairy product and then switching to vegan alternatives.

I don't wish to brag but...  Oh, what the hey...  I'm going to anyway.  Yes, my friend.  It tasted that good.  It might not have tasted like the pastrami of a traditional carnivorous Reuben sandwich, but it was certainly delicious in its own right.  Psst... much healthier too.

Hi-dee hi-dee take-those-animal-flesh-foods-and-try-to-make-them-anew-and-vegetarian-ho my friend.

Recipe